


Saturday Morning

by NotATorontonian (TheLifeAndLiesOfFerns)



Category: Life with Derek
Genre: Early Mornings, F/M, Family, Interior Decorating, Lawyers, Married Life, Peace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:47:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23747821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLifeAndLiesOfFerns/pseuds/NotATorontonian
Summary: George enjoys an early start on his weekend with his wife.
Relationships: Nora McDonald/George Venturi
Kudos: 11





	Saturday Morning

The room was very cold and their small window to the surface world, as he jokingly called it, was foggy, signaling it had rained during the night. He would have to turn on the dehumidifier when his wife wakes up, he noted to himself.

Though it was still too dark to see out, it was only 5:45 in the morning, the scent of wet earth and the storm clung to the air that filtered in through the papered walls of their basement.

Unconventional as it might be, and as twisted and arbitrary was their moving down here, George would have to admit how much he enjoyed having that small sanctuary to share with his wife. God knows how hard it was for a couple to have a moment alone to enjoy each other’s company when there was a kid involved, not to mention five.

Edwin did have a point. It _was_ nice to be a story away from their children.

Any sane man would have seen the radio clock on the nightstand and taken the opportunity to stay in bed, enjoying the long Saturday morning and making the most of the quiet surroundings to catch up on his sleep. Those came rarely enough in their household as it is. If he’d been less awake, he might have been enticed into returning to his mattress even now.

Flipping to the next page of his legal pad, George made another set of annotations from the case documents. He’d been knee deep in assignments and cases that last season. While he was glad the good people of Middlesex County found reason to argue more often in court, he was beginning to feel strained.

Staring at the stupid amounts of disputes and petty arguments was tiring, to the point he was seeing rhyme and reason to Derek and Casey’s disputes, that’s the depth they were reducing him to.

That’s a mental image he was not sure he would someday rid himself.

If he tried going back to bed, his mind would still overflow with thoughts about work, trying to make sense of it all, being concerned about making it on time. Staying up and getting some work done was clearly the sensible option.

His pen scratched through the paper’s fibers, a comforting interference against the silence of the morning. It was soon met with another sound: the old bed creaks, signaling the end to his wife’s sleep.

With space being at such a prime in their house, and having such a large adapted bedroom, George ended up having to have his home office attached to it, and had to share with Nora’s business.

Or, rather, he shared her space. She was self-employed, and used the table more often than he did.

“Good morning.” Nora’s hands skimmed his shoulders as she pressed a kiss to the top of his head and hugged his slumped shoulders.

“Good morning.” George dropped the pen to catch her fingers, then pulled her palm to his lips. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”

She propped a hip on the edge of the rather large table, arms crossed over her stomach. “It wasn’t you. I’ve been up every hour since midnight. No wonder you can’t stand to stay in bed with me anymore.”

Though he knew she was teasing, he couldn’t help setting the record straight. “My insomnia has nothing to do with you.” he added. “This case is leading me on one wild goose chase after another.”

“Can I help?”

“Not without reading several hundred pages of case law.”

“Oh, it’s one of those.” He could have sworn there was disappointment in her tone. “I don’t know why I married a lawyer when I don’t understand a thing about law.”

“So you would always have someone to be your one call, I presume.” He said, good-naturedly. “And you actually married two.”

She swatted his shoulder, but laughed. “I’ll let you get back to work, but I’ll be coming back with breakfast in about an hour.”

His next breath came out as a chuckle. Since their marriage, he could count the number of meals he’d missed on one hand. Nora was exceptionally good at persuading him to take breaks. She was also his favorite unofficial coworker.

“Or you could stay.” He offered. “I’d really enjoy your company, actually.”

“I guess I could get ahead on my projects while you work...” She pretended to consider the offer momentarily, raising one perfect finger to her cheek.

He looked pointedly at the blueprints, colour samples and curtain fabrics strewn rather messily on the table, and then back at her. “We can take a break for food when we’ve come to a good stopping place. Either that or when the kids stumble down the staircase demanding food.”

She laughed despite herself. “You make them sound like savages.”

“They’re worse. They’re _teens_!” He tried to make a horror film impression, to no avail.

“Fine, fine.” She smiles at him. “You’ve convinced me.”

George flashed her a triumphant smile. “It’s good to know I’ve still got it.”

With an obliging grin, she staked her claim on the other end of their table. They exchanged small nods before returning to work.

The longer she sat across from him, however, the more George noticed that his motivation for the case at hand was waning.

Given the choice between endless legalese that, in the end, said nothing at all, and the sight of his wife... Well, it was not exactly a fair competition.

Nora was doing a much better job of keeping focused. Reading glasses on, she navigated the mountain of projects and models with impressive speed as she read, took notes in the margins and compared samples.

“Are you laughing at me?” Nora inquired upon noticing the look on his face.

“No, I’m just admiring my wife.”

He was momentarily disappointed, thinking she was going to ignore the compliment until he felt her ankle crook around his calf. Nora met his gaze as he scooted closer to allow her a better range of movement.

“I like being married to an artiste.”

She rolled her eyes, but the twitch at the corner of her lips gave her away. “It’s, how Derek puts it, window-washing. It is hardly an art.”

“I shouldn’t say it, but you have to know that Derek’s kind of an idiot.” He points out. “You shouldn’t listen to what he says most of the time. Besides, it’s not that you work beautifully. You manage the house, and keep the kids out of trouble--”

“Mostly Derek and Casey.” She interjected with a good-natured groan.

“Mostly Derek and Casey.” He concours. “If that was not enough, you are also making sure I don’t get lost in my work.”

Placing the sheets of paper down, Nora reached across the table to take the hand that was still resting on his legal pad. “Is this your way of telling me you’ve came to a good stopping place?”

He brushed the side of her palm with his thumb. “You know me so well.”

“I am an artiste, after all. I should have a sense.” She smiled kindly. “Breakfast time?”


End file.
